Contract awarded for Foley Boulevard reconstruction

Published August 4, 2014 at 9:23 am

The Anoka County Board July 22 awarded a contract for the reconstruction of a segment of Foley Boulevard in Coon Rapids from 101st Avenue to Egret Boulevard.

The low bid from Forest Lake Contracting totaled $4.51 million, higher than the engineer’s estimate of $4.02 million. The county has received a federal grant for the project in the amount of $2.4 million with the balance of cost coming from the county and city of Coon Rapids state aid dollars.

According to Doug Fischer, county transportation division manager and county highway engineer, some utility work has already started on the project, but road reconstruction is expected to begin in the next week or so.

The goal is to have the project completed this fall, but “there is a lot of work to do,” and the final wear course – the final 1 1/2 to 2 inches of asphalt – and the turf restoration or landscaping might have to wait until the spring of 2015, Fischer said.

Construction will take place under traffic, he said.

The project involves construction of a four-lane section with a center concrete median and dedicated left- and right-turn lanes.

In addition, the existing traffic signal on Foley at the 101st Avenue intersection will be replaced and a new signal constructed at the Foley-102nd Lane intersection.

As part of the project, shoulders will be added, curbs and gutters will be installed, there will be storm sewer work done, retaining walls will be built, gaps in an existing sidewalk on the west side of Foley will be filled, and a new bituminous trail will be constructed on the east side of Foley.

Current access from some of the residential side streets will be eliminated or limited.

The following changes will be made at the other intersections, according to the joint powers agreement for the project approved by the county board and the Coon Rapids City Council:

–Foley and 102nd Avenue, right-in and right-out only.

–Foley and 103rd Avenue, no access.

–Foley and 104th Avenue, right-in and right-out only.

–Foley and 104th Lane, no access.

–Foley and 105th Lane, right-in and right-out only on the east leg and closed on the west side of the intersection.

–Foley and 106th Avenue, no access.

Three homes on the east side of Foley were taken by the county through the right of way acquisition process because they were too close to the road, which will be widened in place to accommodate turn lanes.

The county plans to reconstruct the segment of Foley from Egret to Northdale Boulevard in 2016. It has received federal dollars to help pay for the cost of this project, too.